The curtain goes up at Carnegie

You don't have to wear a tuxedo to enjoy "Carnegie Hall Opening Night 2002," presented live on "Great Performances" (8 p.m., PBS). Pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim will lead the Chicago Symphony through an evening of works by Maurice Ravel and Manuel de Falla. Peter Jennings, who probably will wear a tuxedo, will anchor the proceedings for television viewers.

Barenboim and the Chicago Symphony have a particular affinity for the French composer, who traveled to Chicago to lead that orchestra during his 1928 world tour. A contemporary newspaper account reported that "Ravel has won Chicago ... He has sown the seed of his own inspiration in the musical fields of Illinois."

The musical evening continues with "Concerto with James Conlon" (9:30 p.m., PBS), the first of six half-hour shows featuring Conlon with finalists from the Eleventh Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Tonight, pianist Stanislav Ioudenitch of Uzbekistan is the featured in the performance of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1.

Time flies when you're watching guilty-pleasure television. "Cribs" (9 p.m., MTV) enters its sixth season with a one-hour visit to Hugh Hefner's Playboy mansion. In forthcoming episodes, the "Cribs" crew will visits the homes of rock guitarist and hunting enthusiast Ted Nugent; NFL stars Ray Lewis and Curtis Martin, and the place that Sevendust calls home.

Viewers who can't wait for their next "CSI" fix should catch "The Black Widow of Vegas," tonight's installment of the non-fiction crime feature "American Justice" (8 p.m., A&E;). In the 1960s, real estate magnate Ronald Rudin moved to the gambling Mecca and amassed a fortune; he also collected women. Margaret Rudin was his fifth and final wife. Like many couples, they squabbled about money. Ron eventually changed his will. It stated that if he should die by violent means and if one of his beneficiaries had been responsible, they would receive nothing. Soon after, authorities found Ron Rudin's charred remains in the Nevada desert. Margaret's eventual arrest and trial became the stuff Las Vegas legend.